The use of braces to move teeth and/or change jaw shape is, of course, well-known. The components of typical braces include: (a) brackets, which are typically attached to the teeth and which serve as a means of fastening the arch wire: (b) an arch wire, a metal wire which is attached to the brackets to move the teeth; and (c) a buccal (or molar) tube, a small metal part which is welded on the outside of a molar bank and which contains a slot to hold, among other things, the arch wire.
Upon the installation of the braces, and during periodic tightening of installed braces, it is necessary to install the arch wire. Typically, this occurs by the installation of the wire into position, with the orthodontist inserting a cutting implement into the mouth of the patient and cutting off excess wire length at a point that is distal to the buccal tube.
A need exists for an improved method of cutting an arch wire to length, which preferably does not require that the cutting step occur inside of the mouth of the patient. The present invention satisfies these needs and provides other, related, advantages.